Those who braved the midweek trip to Blyth returned with little reward but the reports from Croft Park were more encouraging than first thought.

Those who braved the midweek trip to Blyth returned with little reward but the reports from Croft Park were more encouraging than first thought. It seems we put Blyth under some decent pressure.

With a five-man defence and Adam Webster the only striker in the starting line up, a one goal defeat on the face of it, isn’t that disheartening.

I’m sure the players share both the joy and suffering at roughly the same level as us. The recent slump in results has left us all with a mixture of emotions and there’s been a few scattergun reactions following the defeats.

I’m convinced a largely silent number have had Thomas’ head in a noose for some time now. Fans’ expectations change with every season and where we once looked up at fourth from bottom as our goal, we now look down at tenth place with a turned up nose.

Expectant and ever demanding better, the football supporter incarnate. To quote Nick Hornby, “the natural state of football fan is bitter disappointment, no matter what the score”.

The question “is 12 seasons in charge long enough?” has been discussed over a few post-match pints. Is a change really as good as a rest? In my opinion, Dean should be credited with building one of our strongest playing squads to date. He now deserves the time to find a way to make the squad work. The start of every league campaign is a glorious renewal of possibilities, but I don’t expect us to win anything, not even the Rolleston Cup. Maybe finishing in mid-table would be a commendable position.

Ending a four game losing streak with a run of the mill draw against a team fighting relegation may not seem much of a two fingered answer to our doubters. But we still have games in hand on all but one team in the top five, while only six points behind Alfreton and Harrogate.

What we’re really waiting for is the arrival of that striker that will change Adam Webster’s wonderful one into a divine duo. From goalkeeper through to the midfield, we lack nothing. All that’s necessary is one strong forward.

These two upcoming home games are crucial and could prove to be our calling card to the rest of the league that we’re still in business.

Six points from wins over Blyth and Droylsden would be a much needed insurance premium against dropping out of the promotion race, thus ensuring that our season doesn’t die in January.